The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1887-09-17
TRIBES OF AsIArlc RUSSIA.


Speaking generally Of the tribes d
Asiatic Russia, IL will be anticipated that
they differ widely from one another In
appearance. When in the bazar oi
Turkistap, one meets with the tall, mod,
erately stout Talk, with white skin,
abundant beard, long. arched, and slen,
der nose. thin straight lips, and good
teeth, his forehead high and wide, arched,
ample eyebrows, in fact, one Of ina
ture's gentlemen" who needs only Euro
pean education to lift him high In The
anthropological scale. His neighbor, the
Uzebeg, Is less pleasing in appearance,
has darker skin, and more Of the "ani.
NAL" about him.
Passing to the Nrgheee, we have q
type Of mankind still less pleasing in
European eyes than either Of the forego-
ing. He bears unmistakable traces Of
his Mongolian nativity. The head, In
deed, is not very large, but the cheek
bones stand out, though not sharply a.
those of the Mongols generally. The
skin is bronzed and yellowish, the COW
cred parts, however. being white, espe-
cially with the women. The forehead d
low, fat and wide, and the nose blunt
and short. The mouth. too, is large and
wide, the lips nearly always thick, and
the teeth large, but Of incompatible
whiteness. The aspect Of the face az q
whole is wide, fat and angular, whilst
the ears are always large and standing
out. The body is vigorous, hands and
feet small, calf almost none, and the
legs curved through continual riding.
The poorer specimens Of humanity,
however, in Asiatic Russia are to be found
on the Tundra rather than in the Steppe.
When steaming on the Obi I was struck
with the diminutive stature Of the Ost-
jaks, their dark hair and eyes, and fat
features. This fatness OF features was
quite outdone when further east, came
to the Buriats, who have large skulls,
square faces, and low and fat foreheads.
Their cheek bones are not only high, but
wide apart, the nose fiat, eyes elongated,
and the skin swarthy and yellowish. But
Of all the types of the human race I met
in Siberia there were none that struck
me as 30 low as the tribes Of the lower
Amur, especially the Goldi and the Gil
yaks.
The physlognomy Of tho Goldi u dis
Hnctly Mongolian. Some Of the men
wear felt hats purchased from the Chi
nese, but the women for the most part
keep TO the high conical hat, worn also
by the Yakutes. The outer garment Of
man and woman is alike in form, save
that ON the skirt Of the woman at the
bottom IL row Of coins or buttons.
They make their baskets Of birch tree
bark, and initiate some Of the customs
of the neighboring Manchu, amongst
others that Of shaving of the hair, with
tho exception Of tail which they wear
on the top Of the head. In fact, they re-
semble, if the expression may be allowed,
debased Chinese, and 30 to some extent
the "Celestials" regard them.
The Gilyaks rank several degrees low
er in the scale Of beauty, or rather the
lack of it. They are diminutive, usually
below rather than above five feet, their
eyes are elongated, the skin tawny, and
the hair black. They have not the open
and clear physiognomy of the majority
of the Tunguses, and their little eyes
sparkle with . dull brilliance, to which
must be added they have squat noses,
thick lips, and prominent cheek bones.-
Henry Lansdell. D. D., in Harper's Mag
azine.